Very popular products that come in single-use containers are a big problem for waste management and the environment. Disposable coffee cups fall squarely into this category. Most of us enjoy the convenience of a freshly-brewed coffee from our favorite coffee house, but those disposable plastic cups for the most part can't or don't get recycled.
A major problem to overcome in producing an easy to recycle coffee cup is dealing with the high temperature of the liquid it must contain. Bioplastics typically show very poor mechanical properties at high temperatures. But a British company managed to achieve a world first by creating a bioplastic that's both suitable for hot coffee and is 100 percent recyclable.
The company in question is Biome Bioplastics, and the cup was made possible thanks to eucalyptus, a genus of flowering trees and shrubs. This new cup is made up of three parts. The outer surface is paper covering a bioplastic inner structure. The lid is made from a different form of bioplastic derived from trees.
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Taken together, the materials are completely recyclable either as part of wood or paper waste. Within three months each cup breaks down when placed on a compost heap, meaning it isn't forming pollution as part of landfill. According to Sky News, major coffee house chains across the UK are now actively testing the cups to see how they perform. If successful, hopefully the eco-friendly cup will become the new standard across the industry.
Biome's mission is to remove our reliance on oil-based polymers for creating plastic products. Plastic is indispensable as a material, but it doesn't necessarily have to be bad for the environment. Bioplastics created using plant starches and tree by-products could solve the problem. There's even an R&D project involving Biome and scientists at the University of York that hopes to create straw-beaded bioplastic.